A team of research scientists from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology are working with the RSPB at Hope Farm to understand which types of field margin (e.g., grass versus pollen and nectar) support a higher number of species of moths, butterflies, and spiders, whilst also providing better protection against pesticide spray drift. To do this we a trialling DNA methodologies and approaches in three different ways.

Ahead of world leaders gathering on the international stage at COP 29 later this year, Joe Llanos hears from farmers on the ground who are leading the way with nature-friendly and climate-resilient farming.

Autumn is a busy time for many, and some of the environmental tasks on the farm can be spread through the autumn and winter months. But if you are sowing new habitats, it is often important to find that sweet spot when the ground is still warm, but moisture is present or forecast.

Below are some top tips for helping and enjoying wildlife over the next three months:

• If cutting hedges, doing up to 1/3 of your hedges between…

On 25 June, the sun came out. Finally. Just in time for a team of dedicated staff from the RSPB to head off to Lannock Manor Farm to set up our show stand for Groundswell - the regenerative agriculture festival. Offering a huge range of talks, activities...

RSPB Volunteer, Alex Mackenzie, writes a summary of Hope Farm’s Technical Webinar on Carbon-friendly farming, chaired by Dr Rob Field. It featured insights from Dr Jenny Bussell, Soil Scientist at the Allerton Project; Sophie Arnold, Hope Farm Assistant Manager; and Clara Robinson, Hope Farm project manager.

Why the Focus on Carbon?

Over the past century, human activities such as fossil fuel consumption and land…

Today’s blog by Duerden Cormack, Monitoring Assistant, gives us the latest results of the winter bird counts at Hope Farm, Cambridgeshire.

The winter of 2023/24 has been exceptionally warm and wet with just a couple of days of freezing conditions. In fact, this has been the wettest winter we have experienced at Hope Farm since we began farming here in 2000. This has made my job of choosing suitable survey days quite…

Chris Bailey, Advisory Manager for RSPB Scotland tells us about some of the work happening in Scotland to secure the future for waders 

The evocative call of the curlew has echoed across Scotland for generations, but these much-loved birds are at risk of being lost from our landscapes. Since the mid-1990s, their numbers have dropped by 60% in Scotland and they are thought to be disappearing faster across the UK than anywhere…

With a General Election now announced, we are calling for the Westminster government to support farmers and restore wildlife to our countryside

Summer is generally the season to let wildlife habitats on the farm do their thing and enjoy seeing the wildlife that makes use of them. Agricultural advice manager Richard Winspear sets out some top tips for helping and enjoying wildlife over the summer months

Our farming teams around the UK really look forward to the opportunity to chat to visitors to our stands at various events over the summer. It’s a great chance to share knowledge, talk through ideas and find new opportunities to work together for the benefit of farm wildlife. Here’s a brief round up of where you can find us over the coming months.

Clara Robinson, Carbon Farming Project Manager takes a look at the emerging results from her work looking at on-farm carbon calculators

Find out what you can do during spring to help wildlife on the farm with some top seasonal tips

RSPB NI have been working in partnership with the Dairy Council Northern Ireland (DCNI), its member organisations and the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) to develop a series of practical measures that enable farmers to enhance biodiversity on their land, creating positives for both the farm and the environment.

Duerden Cormack, Monitoring Assistant at RSPB Hope Farm, summarises the key findings of the core monitoring of breeding birds, butterflies, and bumblebees carried out at Hope Farm during the summer months of 2023.

This year will be memorable for me as my first year of surveying at Hope Farm. Starting in this role in January it has been great to watch the farm come alive as the seasons have progressed and it has been a…

Dan Brown, Senior Conservation Advisor with RSPB Scotland tells us about some encouraging management trials that have been developed with farmers in the Clyde Valley to support breeding wader populations in Scotland

Guest blog by Georgina Bray, RSPB Hope Farm Manager

2023 has been another season of trials and tribulations, with strange weather to say the least. It was one with a few firsts for us again, trying a 2-way variety blends, more complex heritage blends (YQ Wheat), intercropping, and tramline trials in off the back of our oilseed rape pilot trial. This is alongside another year of the agroforestry trial (updated in another…

As part of the Vibrant Vyrnwy project, we launched an exciting new Agricultural Trainee Programme in September 2023. Our goal is to train 6 young people between the ages of 18-25 in conservation farming techniques; giving them a platform from which they can gain jobs within the sector, making a positive impact within the farming community, and benefiting wildlife.

Richard Winspear, Agriculture Advice Manager, looks at how farmers in England can utilise the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to deliver better outcomes for nature.

Summerdown are the Peppermint People. They grow, harvest and distil their signature Black Mitcham peppermint on their Hampshire farm - and have been doing so for over 25 years.

Black Mitcham is an extraordinary peppermint prized for its pure, bright character and it’s a taste that had been all but lost to England. Alongside other arable crops and herbs such as camomile and lavender, the Summerdown team now grow around…

Ruairi Brogan, Policy Officer - Sustainable Agriculture with RSPB NI talks us through an exciting project underway with dairy farmers in Northern Ireland. 

The RSPB Northern Ireland policy team have partnered with the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland and its member organisations Dale Farm, Lakeland Dairies and Glanbia Cheese to explore how dairy farms can play an active role in tackling the declines in farmland biodiversity…

Hannah Woodall, Land Use Policy Officer with the RSPB Cymru team, tells us about a major peat restoration project being undertaken at Lake Vyrnwy.

It’s an afternoon in mid-Autumn and I pull off the road at Gadfa leading to the Bwlch y Groes, the second highest pass in Wales, where I’m flanked by two sides of iconic Welsh uplands. The breeze is cool, but the bluest of skies and warm light illuminates the hillsides. It is…

Ruairi Brogan, Policy Officer for Sustainable Agriculture RSPB NI, offers an insight into his recent attendance at the Balmoral Show and how, with the right investment and support, nature positive farming can be good for business, climate and nature....

Andrew Stark, Senior Policy Officer - UK Land and Seas Policy, provides a round up of many of the agricultural shows and events we will be attending during the course of the summer. The RSPB cares passionately about agriculture, farmers and crofters,...

Duerden Cormack, Monitoring Assistant at RSPB Hope Farm, reflects on the key findings of the core monitoring of breeding birds, butterflies, and bumblebees carried out at Hope Farm during the summer months of 2022. Reed Bunting at Hope Farm. Image (...

Shelley Abbott, Fair to Nature Technical Facilitator, shares the findings of a recent survey highlighting that the UK's food and farming system is a key ally in the face of the nature and climate emergency.   European starling (Sturnus...